As with my 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Year in Review features, this article looks back on a year of music with a summary of the highlights. This year, I attended about 35 shows, with hundreds of different sets of incredible talent and music to make sense of, not to mention trying to keep up with all of the studio releases from artists, new and old. This is my attempt to (subjectively) share my favorites of the year, from live shows to new songs and albums. You can also check out my Top 100 Concert Photos of 2016 in that separate article.

As with my 2012, 2013, and 2014 Year in Review features, this feature looks back on a year of music with a summary of the highlights. This year, I attended about 50 shows, with hundreds of different sets of incredible talent and music to make sense of, not to mention trying to keep up with all of the studio releases from artists, new and old. This is my attempt to (subjectively) share my favorites of the year, from live shows to new songs and albums. You can also check out my Top 100 Concert Photos of 2015 in that separate article.

As with my 2012 and 2013 Year in Review features, it’s always a challenge to reflect back on a year of music and summarize the highlights. Honestly, I don’t know if I will have have a year that beats 2013, which was an incredible one for me with a lot of travel as well. This year, I ended up attending 60-something shows, most with two or more artists, so hundreds of different sets of incredible talent and music. As such, I feel it is important to highlight the best of the best of the best, in an attempt to celebrate the year that was. You can also check out my Top 100 Concert Photos of 2014 in that separate article.

Rock and roll icons Fleetwood Mac and their “Own With The Show” tour is heading west later this month, with a second leg of shows added for January, February and March of 2015 as part of their extensive North American tour featuring their historic line-up of Lindsey Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie, John McVie, and Stevie Nicks. [Read more…]

It isn’t often that real, genuine rock and roll legends come into my hometown of Sacramento to perform in concert, but after last night’s Fleetwood Mac show at Sleep Train Arena, they’ve set the bar quite high for any act to follow. Have loved this band since I was a kid, but have never seen them live, so this was an eagerly anticipated show for me. I did see Lindsay Buckingham on his own last year, and Stevie Nicks with Dave Grohl’s Sound City Players earlier this year, so have had bursts of greatness, which really fed my desire to see them together as Fleetwood Mac even more. As amazing as those other performances had been, they did not prepare me for the magic of having their best line-up (unfortunately sans Christine McVie) on stage together. I think it cements Lindsay Buckingham as the true rock God of the 70s/80s generation and Stevie Nicks, fittingly, as the rock Goddess. Mick Fleetwood is like Zeus (or maybe a mad pirate), with twin balls hanging (in a dangling/dancing sort of way) from his belt. John McVie is content to leave center stage to the others, throwing down his bassline and keeping everything on the tracks as much as possible. This is a band who know who they are, and haven’t strayed from their identity in sound or fashion. What really hit home is how much they appreciate their fans, which was expressed not just in the performance but in eloquent statements from Nicks and Fleetwood to close out the show, calling us their “Dreamcatchers”, and really articulating the music fan/musician dynamic better than I’ve ever heard before. This date closed out the U.S. leg of their tour, and certainly inspires one to start following them around Europe later this year…

“I ain’t gonna waste a lot of time talking. All I’m gonna tell you is this… For the next two and a half hours, I promise to take you on a roller coaster ride you will never forget…” A pledge from the Bon Jovi front man, Jon Bon Jovi, about 15 minutes into their supporting act-free “An Evening With…” concert for their “Because We Can Tour” at the massive HP Pavilion in San Jose last night, which appeared near filled to its 17,496 capacity. Admittedly, I am not a dedicated Bon Jovi follower – I am a big fan of a handful of hits – so I don’t feel as though I was the intended audience. Having said that, I tried to imagine how I would take it all in if I were a fan, and I still find the roller coaster metaphor challenging to wrap my head around, as I found the show to be, for lack of a better description… ill-suited, and frankly boring… for such a large venue. While Richie Sambora did not make it through the tour to appear at this last date on the U.S. leg of their journey in support of the new What About Now album, I can’t imagine his being part of last night’s show would have been enough to overcome the shortcomings (and fill-in Phil X was fine). Bon Jovi seems like a genuine, appreciative, kind guy, but at least from my perspective, maybe he arrived last night and forgot to load that six string on his back.

As reported in recent months, with 2013 Fleetwood Mac is touring together with their first concert performances since 2009. The band today announced their first set of dates outside of North America, with concerts now scheduled for Europe and the UK in the Fall, beginning in September, following the 47 shows already on sale in the U.S. Additionally, last week Rhino Records released several different versions of Rumors, one of the all-time classic albums produced in all of rock and popular music. Celebrating 35 years since its release, a number of deluxe versions of the album will be available with incredible extras. [Read more…]

As reported last month, Fleetwood Mac will be launching their world tour in Ohio in April, as part of their first set of concert performances since 2009. The band today announced the addition of 13 more dates to the 34 for which tickets have been on sale in the U.S., with the new tickets mostly going on sale February 1st or 2nd. Additionally, Rhino Records will be releasing several different versions of Rumors, one of the all-time classic albums produced in all of rock and popular music. Celebrating 35 years since its release, a number of deluxe versions of the album will be available with incredible extras. [Read more…]

Colin Hay, Scottish born and best known as the front man and singer from 80s Australian band Men at Work (best known for their hits “Down Under,” “Overkill,” and “Who Can It Be Now?”), following a festival in Michigan later this month, will be touring his homeland all of February and into March, then visit some of the cities in the West in the U.S. in April, and then his trip to the UK will take him through the end of May. [Read more…]

Back in November, we reported on the news of the Alicia Keys 2013 Summer tour of Europe and England in support of her latest and fifth studio album, Girl On Fire, which went on sale late last year. The Grammy Award-winning artist has now announced a North American leg of the same tour, which will take place in March and April, and has been dubbed the Set The World On Fire Tour”. [Read more…]

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